McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery In Ireland
by Pete McCarthy
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Book Summary Information
Author: Pete McCarthyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-03-03
ISBN: 0312311338
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Book Reviews of McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery In Ireland
Book Review: Lost soul seeks a place of resurrection
Summary: 4 Stars
Author and humorist Pete McCarthy, son of an Irish mother and English father, has an identity crisis. His feeling of belonging in the English Midlands having gotten lost somewhere along the way, he searches for his roots and a sense of "home" in the west of Ireland - a journey of discovery and social commentary as related here in McCARTHY'S BAR, the first of his two books on the joys and angst of an Irish heritage.
Whether he's climbing to the top of Ireland's holiest mountain, Croagh Patrick, stopping for a pint at every "McCarthy's Bar" he stumbles upon, enduring a three-day ordeal of fasting, sleep deprivation and barefoot praying at the country's last remaining place of rigorous religious pilgrimage, St. Patrick's Purgatory at Lough Derg, crashing the touristy medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle, taking the dodgy cable car across treacherous waters to Dursey Island, or seeking out the "Ryan's Daughter" commemorative stone on the Dingle Peninsula, McCarthy's narrative is a revelatory introduction to Eire's rugged western counties. And, Pete's strength is always his keen eye for and pungent commentary on the absurdities of the local human condition.
"Outside the church (in Castletownbere) half a dozen shifty-looking men are lurking by the porch, observing their obligation to attend mass, but without actually entering the building and being spotted by the priest ... Hunched and restless, their furtive, well-practiced body language doesn't say 'Church' so much as 'Unemployment Office' or 'Magistrate's Court'. Ireland may be becoming a more secular society, but some deeply ingrained vestige of belief has convinced these guys they're more likely to avoid eternal damnation if they spend an hour every Saturday night having a few smokes outside the church before going out for a skinful. It's a complex business, modern theology."
McCarthy and Bill Bryson are my two favorite travel essayists. But whereas the latter's gentle observations are fueled by a certain bemused inquisitiveness, Pete's, though basically benign, seem to be colored by a mild case of indigestion. I can't say that I prefer one over the other; it depends on my mood. Certainly, if McCarthy proves to be as prolific a writer as Bill, then his publisher is assured of my dollars.
McCarthy perhaps hit his stride with his second book, THE ROAD TO McCARTHY, to which I awarded five stars. McCARTHY'S BAR seemed a bit forced at times, e.g. in the chapter about the author's travails in St. Patrick's Purgatory. However, as a half-century resident of Southern California, in which place I've never felt entirely comfortable, I can relate to the quote attributed by the author to his friend on Inishmore Island, Father Dara Molloy, a Catholic priest - now married with three children - gone rogue from established Church doctrine:
"The Celtic monks would wander round Europe until they found the place that was calling to them ... They had an expression for it: seeking their place of resurrection. They believed that they were beneath that spot in the firmament that would one day lead them to heaven."
PS: Today, 7/19/05, I received an email from Pete's literary agent that the author died of cancer in October 2004. This is a great loss to the travel essay and humor genres.
Summary of McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery In Ireland
Despite the many exotic places Pete McCarthy has visited, he finds that nowhere else can match the particular magic of Ireland, his mother?s homeland. In McCarthy's Bar, his journey begins in Cork and continues along the west coast to Donegal in the north. Traveling through spectacular landscapes, but at all times obeying the rule, ?never pass a bar that has your name on it,? he encounters McCarthy?s bars up and down the land, meeting fascinating people before pleading to be let out at four o?clock in the morning.
Written by someone who is at once an insider and an outside, McCarthy's Bar is a wonderfully funny and affectionate portrait of a rapidly changing country.
Written by someone who is at once an insider and an outside, McCarthy's Bar is a wonderfully funny and affectionate portrait of a rapidly changing country.
Although Pete McCarthy was raised in England, his mother hails from West Cork, and, despite never having lived there, he can't shake the strange feeling that Ireland is more home than home. A return pilgrimage reveals immediately why he (or anyone, for that matter) feels "involved and engaged" in Ireland. On arriving at the airport in Cork he's greeted by a guy in a giant rubber Celtic cross getup who's telling jokes with a latter-day St. Patrick (the guy who cast all snakes and pagans out of Ireland). Later, when McCarthy happens to mention that his surname matches that of the pub he's in (ever faithful to his Eighth Rule of Travel: "Never Pass a Bar That Has Your Name on It"), the owner buys him a Guinness, invites him to her raucous all-night birthday party, then insists he move to Ireland because, well, obviously he belongs. McCarthy's Second Rule of Travel states: "The More Bright Primary Colours and Ancient Celtic Symbols Outside the Pub, the More Phoney the Interior." While the island is turning into a haven for upmarket tourists--and McCarthy offers outstanding examples of bumbleheaded tourists in action--he still finds plenty of pubs where you can buy a bicycle and which still exist primarily as venues for conversation and Irish music sessions.
While most travel writers seek out opportunities to meet the famous--or the infamous--McCarthy has the charming knack of just bumping into them on his rambles, which is how he met Noel Redding, formerly of Jimi Hendrix's band, and the author Frank McCourt. Far more interesting, though, are the eccentric and talkative bachelors and landladies who turn up in pubs, B&Bs, and the middle of the road. McCarthy has mastered the art of getting creatively lost, wandering the back lanes of Ireland where the hype of tourism has yet to arrive, pursuing stone circles, impossibly romantic ruined abbeys, and, of course, pubs. What he discovers is that "In Ireland, the unexpected happens more than you expect," which makes for a hilarious tour through one of the most beautiful, friendly, and quirky places on earth with a comedian who has honed the art of telling a good story and of having fun. --Lesley Reed
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